A Land Without Happily Ever After
by JamminGirl90
Summary: "A Land Without Magic" AU. An exploration of what could have happened had Emma eaten the turnover instead of Henry. Many, many Charming Family feels


_*So, I've really been wanting to write this for a long time, and I'm finally getting around to it. This is obviously AU, starting at the end of An Apple as Red as Blood. I just wanted to explore another way the story could have gone. I hope you enjoy. Happy Reading!_

_Disclaimer: I would make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to own Once Upon a Time, but I have nothing he wants…_

(Henry)

Henry froze when he saw the turnover sitting on Emma's counter. "Where did you get that?" he asked, releasing his hold on her waist.

Emma glanced at the turnover and shrugged. "Regina gave it to me."

His worst fear was confirmed when he sniffed the pastry. "Apple."

"So?" Emma shrugged again.

"You can't eat that," Henry told her. "It's poisoned."

Emma sighed. "What?"

"Don't you see?" he asked, though she clearly didn't. "The deal; it was all a trick to get you to eat _that_. To get rid of the Savior." He stared up at her earnestly, praying that she'd see the truth.

Emma shook her head. "Henry, that's not what she's doing," she protested. "Regina is _not_ trying to poison me."

"Yes she is," he insisted. "She's been trying to get rid of you since you got here."

Emma knelt down to his level again. "Look, kid, as much as your mom doesn't want me around, I don't think she'd stoop to murder to get rid of me. That turnover is harmless." She stood up. "And I'm going to prove it."

Before he could stop her, she bit into the turnover. He held his breath as she chewed and swallowed. Nothing happened. She gave him a small smile. "See, kid? I'm fine." Then, she slumped to the floor, unconscious, the turnover falling from her hand.

"Emma!" he cried, running immediately to her side. He brushed her hair away from her face. Her eyes were closed and she was already deathly pale. "Emma, c'mon, wake up," he begged. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to cry. _The curse isn't real_, he thought. _The curse doesn't exist and my mom didn't just eat a poisoned apple turnover. This is a dream. A bad dream, and when I open my eyes, everything will be okay._

Tears immediately started to fall when Henry opened his eyes and found Emma still unconscious. He took her hand and squeezed it, hoping for a response. "Emma, please," he begged. "Wake up. Please, wake up. We can't let her win. Good always wins, remember?" There was no response, no sign that she was even still alive except for the slow rise and fall of her chest. He leaned in closer, his tears splashing onto her skin and the floor. "Please wake up, Mom," he pleaded, his voice breaking. "Please, Mom. Please." He dissolved into tears, wishing that Emma had a True Love that could swoop in and save the day with a kiss.

Henry heard the door open and glanced up to see Mary Margaret standing in the doorway, her eyes wide with horror. "Henry, what happened?" she asked, rushing over to kneel by Emma. "What _happened_?" she repeated, frantically checking for a pulse.

He gulped a couple of breaths in an effort to get his voice back. "My mom gave her a turnover," he managed, sniffling. "I told her not to eat it, but she wouldn't listen to me. I think," he started, pausing to figure out how much to tell her. "I think my mom poisoned it."

Mary Margaret opened her mouth, then closed it again. "Have you called 911?" she asked. He shook his head. "How long has she been unconscious?"

"Only a couple of minutes," he replied. "_Should_ I call 911?"

Mary Margaret was quiet for a moment. She bit her lip, then shook her head. "No. If she _has _been poisoned, we don't have time to wait for an ambulance." She shifted a little, then started to lift Emma, struggling to keep her grip while maintaining her balance. When she was finally standing, she nodded to the turnover on the counter. "Bring the turnover," she said. "And, um, could you get the door?"

Henry held the door open, shifting nervously as Mary Margaret made her way to the stairs. "Are you gonna be able to carry her down all those stairs?" he asked.

Mary Margaret glanced at the stairs, then back at Henry. "I'm going to have to."

(David)

David sighed as he parked his truck in front of Mary Margaret's building. He stared up at her window for a few moments before steeling his resolve and getting out of the truck. He knew how this conversation was going to go. Mary Margaret would never leave Storybrooke or Emma or the children that she taught. He hated to live without her, but he couldn't live in this town anymore; this poisonous, little town where everyone knew too much.

He entered the apartment building and started to slowly make his way up the stairs to the third floor, rehearsing what he was going to say as he climbed. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Henry until the boy had run smack into him, almost knocking both of them over.

"Whoa there, kid," David said as he steadied Henry and himself. "Where's the fire?"

Henry looked up at David with teary, fearful eyes. He grabbed David's hand and started tugging him up the stairs. "Miss Blanchard needs help," he said, letting go of David's hand so that he could rush back up the stairs.

David's heart leapt into his throat, and he followed Henry, taking the stairs two at a time until he met Mary Margaret on the second floor landing. She was slumped against the wall, breathing hard, struggling to hold onto Emma, who didn't appear to be breathing. Mary Margaret looked up when she heard his footsteps. "David," she whispered, her voice flooded with relief.

"What happened?" he asked.

Mary Margaret shook her head. "I don't know for sure. I came home and she was on the floor, unconscious," she explained. "Henry said she ate some of a turnover that Regina gave to her. She must have had an allergic reaction to it or something."

"My mom poisoned it," Henry piped up. "I know it."

"We don't know that, Henry," Mary Margaret said. "Though I wouldn't put it past her." She looked back up at David. "In any case, I need to get Emma to the hospital, but an ambulance will take too long, and it just took _me_ five minutes to get her down one flight of stairs."

David nodded. "Give her to me," he said, holding out his arms. "We can take my truck; it's right outside."

David shifted a little, crouching so that he could take Emma from Mary Margaret. When he took her in his arms and straightened, he was struck by how light she actually was, how _small _she felt cradled against his chest. He could just barely feel her breathing, the movement of her chest so faint that he looked down to check if she was still breathing at all.

The flood of memories hit him like a tsunami, and he staggered back a couple of steps as the images rushed back into his mind; slaying his first dragon, Snow staring down at him from the net, every battle that they fought against King George and Regina, breaking Snow's sleeping curse with a kiss, both of their weddings, and finally Emma, baby Emma, cradled in the crook of his arm as he battled his way to the wardrobe that would keep her safe from Regina's curse. Pain gripped his heart when he realized that he'd failed. Yes, he'd gotten her safely into the wardrobe, but he still hadn't been able to save his daughter. Henry was right. Regina _had _poisoned her, possibly with the same apple that she'd used on Snow.

"David, are you alright?" His eyes snapped up to meet Snow's, which were filled with worry. He could tell that she still didn't remember, that she still thought that she was Mary Margaret Blanchard.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "I just lost my balance for a moment."

She nodded, only some of the worry dissipating. "Let's go," she said, leading the way down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, she plucked David's keys from his pocket. "It'll be easier if I drive," she explained. "That way, we won't have to try to transfer Emma from you to me and back again."

David nodded in agreement and followed Snow to the car, carefully climbing in the back of the cab with Emma. Henry climbed in after him, leaning in close as Snow started for the hospital. "You remember don't you?" he whispered hopefully.

David checked to make sure Snow was preoccupied. She was on the phone with the hospital, explaining some of what had happened. "I do. How could you tell?"

Henry shrugged. "The look on your face when you took Emma from Miss Blanchard," he explained. "I just knew." He paused, looking at Emma. "She'll be okay, won't she?" he asked. "Good always wins, right?"

_Not always_, David thought, but he gave Henry a weak smile. "We'll figure something out," he promised. "I'm not letting her go without a fight."

He spent the remainder of the drive silently studying Emma the way he never had as David Nolan. The first thing he noticed was that she had Snow's chin, as well as her nose. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and grinned. Snow's ears too. But her mouth, her cheekbones, her hair, the little furrow between her eyebrows; that was all him. Her eyes. As hard as he tried, he couldn't remember what color they were. Were they blue? Green? Some combination thereof? Or were they some other color entirely? His gut clenched at the thought of possibly never getting to see for himself.

David didn't notice that they had stopped moving until Henry started climbing out of the truck. He followed him out carefully, then ran to where Doctor Whale and a pair of nurses waited with a gurney. He handed Emma over reluctantly, zoning out while Snow explained in greater detail what had happened. Henry gave the turnover to one of the nurses, who immediately took it away to be tested.

They were about to follow Whale through a set of double doors when he stopped them, explaining that they couldn't go any further. "I promise, we'll do everything in our power to help her, but it's going to be difficult until we know exactly what we're dealing with."

Snow led Henry to one of the loveseats in the waiting room. David sat down in the chair next to them, and they lapsed into silence, all three of them staring anxiously at the double doors.

Snow practically jumped out of her seat when a nurse came through the doors ten minutes later, then sat back down dejectedly when the nurse strolled right past them without stopping. David reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently. "She'll be alright," he said, though he didn't quite believe his own words.

She looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "How do you know?" she asked, her voice breaking.

He sighed. "I don't," he admitted. "But she's young and she's strong. And she's a fighter…with a lot of reasons to keep fighting."

Snow was about to reply when Regina rushed in, moving towards Henry. "Oh thank god you're alright. What happened?" she asked. "I got a call that said you were on your way to the hospital with Miss Blanchard and-"

"You know what happened!" Henry accused, jumping to his feet. "You poisoned my mom! Emma was going to leave, and you _knew _that, but you gave her that turnover anyway!"

Regina froze in place, the color draining from her face. "Henry, what are you talking about?" she asked, her voice strained. "I would never hurt anyone that was important to you, you know that." She took another step towards Henry, but he backed away from her.

"Stay away from me!" he yelled, dodging around her and disappearing down a corridor.

Regina moved to follow him, but Snow stood up. "I'll go," she said, maneuvering around Regina before anyone could stop her. She jogged down the corridor after Henry, calling his name.

Regina turned to face David. "David, what is going on?" she asked, still feigning ignorance.

David stood abruptly, moving into her personal space. "Don't play games, Regina," he warned. "Henry knows exactly what you did to Emma." He paused. "And so do I."

Regina's confused expression vanished. She raised an eyebrow at him, smirking. "And what _exactly_ did I do to poor Miss Swan?"

"You put her under a sleeping curse," he stated simply. "I don't know how you did it, but somehow you got one of your poison apples into Storybrooke and you baked it into a turnover that you gave to my daughter."

She cocked her head to the side, staring curiously at him. "You remember."

David nodded. "I do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find the one person in this town that can actually help me."

"Oh?" Regina asked, her amused smirk returning. "And who would that be?"

"Rumpelstiltskin."

(Gold)

Gold looked up from the artifact he'd been examining when his shop bell rang violently, raising an eyebrow slightly at David Nolan's urgent entry. "Mr. Nolan," he said calmly, "how may I be of service?"

Gold almost grinned when David planted his hands on the counter and stared him down. From just one look in the man's eyes, he could tell that he was no longer dealing with the spineless David Nolan. This was Prince Charming, and he was on a mission.

"Emma's been poisoned," David said bluntly. "Regina put her under a sleeping curse, and I need your help to break it."

Gold nodded. "I suspected that she'd try as much," he admitted. "Though, how she got the apple here, I can only guess." He sighed. "And there's also the matter of how the magic might work in a land that was never meant to have it."

David swallowed. "I don't know what I can offer you for your help, but…"

"There's no need for that," Gold interrupted. "I'll help you for free, just this once."

He couldn't blame David for staring at him incredulously. "Why would you do that?" he asked suspiciously. "Magic _always _comes with a price. I learned that from you."

Gold nodded. "That is true, your Majesty, but let's just say that I have a…vested interest in your daughter's survival." He rose from his stool and limped to the far end of the counter. "There is _one_ way that we can save Emma, but you're going to need this." He placed the large leather case on the counter and opened it, revealing its contents to the prince.

"My sword," David whispered reverently, taking the gleaming weapon from its velvet bed. "How did you get this?"

Gold gave him a tight smile. "How does not matter, your Majesty," he remarked, coming out from behind the counter and starting for the door. "What _does _matter is that we don't have much time. If you want to save your daughter, you're going to have to trust me."

David followed him out of the shop and down the street. He looked at Gold curiously when they stopped in front of the clock tower. "What's your plan, Gold?" he asked.

Gold lead him into the lobby and to the hidden elevator. "We need to retrieve the only magic left in Storybrooke," he explained. "You're going to have to visit an old friend."

David's curiosity vanished completely, replaced by knowing suspicion. "And what _friend _would that be?"

Gold opened the lift doors for David, gesturing for him to enter. As David stepped inside, a rumbling roar echoed faintly, rattling the metal. "I believe you remember Maleficent."

(David)

As the elevator shuddered to a halt at the bottom of the shaft, David drew his sword from its sheath. He took a deep breath, trying to steady his grasp on the sword. He could save Emma. All he had to do was slay a dragon. Nothing he hadn't done before. Of course that _had_ been almost forty years ago and was mostly pure luck.

He stepped off the elevator into a far-reaching cavern. He proceeded cautiously, sword at the ready, cursing inwardly when something crunched under his boot, echoing through the cave. David looked down and found a glittering pattern of glass shards, the remnants of Snow's coffin. He stepped back slowly as another rumble shook the cave. He turned around and came face-to-face with the dragon.

Maleficent huffed a hot breath in his face, her large eyes glittering with recognition. David rolled to one side, trying to get out of her line of vision. He ran back towards the elevator, barely avoiding her sweeping tail. He stole a moment to breathe while she tried to maneuver around the cramped corner he'd lead her into. When she shook her head back and forth in frustration, a flash of gold caught David's eye. An idea sprung into his head, and he dashed forward before he could second guess himself.

He leapt and grabbed hold of her swishing tail, getting himself smacked into the wall a time or two before he started to climb up the dragon's back. He was halfway to her neck before she even realized he was there, but when she did, she started thrashing around wildly in an attempt to throw him off. He held on with grim determination and managed to make his way to her neck. He had just grabbed the egg that was still protruding out of her gills when a particularly violent movement dislodged him, sending him flying.

David stood slowly, wincing at the shards of glass that had embedded themselves in him when he landed on them. Miraculously, he had held onto his sword, and he also held the ornate, golden egg in his bleeding hand. He hobbled into the elevator, closing the grate and banging on the side to let Gold know to bring him up.

When David stumbled off of the lift, Gold raised an eyebrow at him, but made no comment on his disheveled appearance. David held out the egg, which Gold took and promptly opened, revealing a small glass vial filled with a purple substance. "That's going to save Emma?" David asked, still gasping for breath.

Gold nodded once. "True Love," he said, "the most powerful magic in any world." He tucked the vial into his breast pocket, striding out the door without further explanation. David followed as fast as he could.

They were within view of the hospital when a rippling wave of _something_ washed over them, momentarily stopping them in their tracks. "What was that?" David asked, his heart in his throat again.

Gold started walking again, faster than before. "Nothing good, I'm afraid, your Majesty," he said, handing him the vial. "Go. You'll get there faster without worrying about me. I'll catch up."

David took the vial and ran for the hospital, ignoring the protests of his battered body. He went first to the waiting room, which was empty, save for one nurse. He took her by the shoulders. "Emma Swan?" he asked. She pointed through the double doors, and he nodded his thanks before pushing through them.

He walked into a scene of utter chaos. Doctor Whale and three nurses were holding Snow back from Regina, who was on the floor with bloody scratches down the sides of her face. Snow was almost incoherent with rage, but David picked out a few words, including _murder_, _my daughter_, and _evil witch_.

Dread filled him as he turned his attention to Emma. Henry was on the bed with her, curled against her as his little body shook with sobs. And Emma…she was completely still, her eyes closed, her expression peaceful. The monitors that she was attached to were silent, the heart monitor showing nothing but a flat green line.

"Oh dear." David whipped around at the sound of Gold's voice.

"She's dead," he whispered helplessly. Gold nodded. "We were too late."

Gold nodded solemnly. "I am truly sorry, your Majesty."

"What about this?" David asked, holding up the vial. "Won't it still work? You said that it's the most powerful magic in any world."

Gold took the vial from him gently. "Even magic has its limits," he explained softly. "There's not a spell that exists in any world that can reverse death." He turned to leave, pausing at the doors. "Again, I'm truly sorry."

David waited for Gold to leave before turning to Regina. "Get up," he commanded quietly. She stood, facing him defiantly, not even flinching when he brought the point of his sword to her throat. "Leave," he ordered. "I don't care where you go, but let us grieve for our daughter in peace."

Regina stared him down. "And what if I don't want to go?" she asked. "My son is here, I'm staying with him."

"I'm going to count to ten," David told her. "If you're still here by the time I reach ten, I will run you through _just so_, so that you die slowly and painfully. And not one person in this entire hospital will move a muscle to help you."

Regina swallowed and nodded. "Henry, let's go," she said. "We're leaving."

"Like hell you are," Snow snapped, still struggling against Whale and his nurses. "He stays with us."

Regina glared at her. "Fine," she said, moving towards the door. "Don't think you've seen the last of me," she warned.

Snow stopped struggling, her eyes going cold. "I certainly hope not, Regina," she replied, her voice deadly calm. "Because the next time I see you, I plan on putting an arrow through your cold, black heart." Regina went white and froze for a moment before disappearing through the double doors.

Whale waited a few moments after Regina left before releasing Snow. She immediately ran to David, bursting into tears the moment she was in his arms.

His own tears started to fall as he tightened his arms around her. He sank to the ground under the weight of his grief, pulling Snow into his lap. "I'm sorry," he murmured, his voice cracking. "I'm sorry, Snow, I'm so sorry. I tried to save her. I tried. I'm sorry."

David heard a small thump and looked up. Henry had slid off the bed and was standing beside it looking lost. Snow looked up too. "Oh, Henry," she whispered, holding her arms out to him. He barreled into her embrace, almost knocking them all over. David wrapped his arms around the both of them in an effort to protect all that was left of his family.

When they finally untangled themselves, the sun was going down outside, and the only other person left in the room was Blue. The fairy cleared her throat. "Your Highness? We're going to have to move her soon," she said apologetically. "I can only give you a few minutes to say your goodbyes."

David picked Henry up and sat him back on the bed. "I love you, Mom," he whispered, kissing her on the cheek. He scooted away, making room for David and Snow.

David brushed Emma's hair away from her face. He touched her cheek, her skin cold under his fingertips. "I wish I would have tried to get to know you better," he said. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." He leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Good night, my little one," he whispered, repeating what his mother had told him every night before bed. "Sleep tight. Know that I love you tonight."

He pulled away and stood back, his hand moving to Snow's shoulder. "Oh, Emma," she whispered, stroking their daughter's hair. "My Emma. I wish I would have known all along who you were. I wouldn't have wasted a minute of our time together if I'd known. But I want you to know that it didn't matter who you were. I would have loved you anyway."

They all fell silent for a moment. Then, Henry spoke. "You all remember now," he observed. "Does that mean that the curse is broken?"

Snow nodded. "Yes. She saved us," she said, leaning down to kiss Emma as well. "She saved us all."

* * *

_*uses magic bean to transport myself to a place where no one can hurt me…_


End file.
